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  • Airbag suspension

    First, I apologize to the purists for this posting. You may not like this...
    I am in the planning stages of the suspension on my 52 Champion. My initial thought was to refurbish as many original parts as possible and put her back the way she was. But then I saw a local guy who had an old Cheby riding on an airbag suspension. Lemme tell ya, it looked COOL. So, I was wondering how hard it would be to get my Betty that close to the ground. Has anyone tried this? If so, is there a manufacturer that is recommended? Any tips/tricks?
    I figure better to sort this out now before I put any $$ into the old suspension.
    Thanks! I really do appreciate all the great advice/info. It makes getting into the world of Studes much easier for a young buck like me!
    Michael

  • #2
    Figure 2 grand for a universal setup. You can bag just about anything. Go to a Truckshow for ideas everybody is bagging their rides.

    Comment


    • #3
      Been there, done that, don't necessarily reocommend it. Very expensive, especially for a Studebaker since there are no bolt on "kits" available. Ride quality and handling so-so. But then there's the look...priceless. Probably wouldn't have done it but for the ground clearance I lost with the extra frame reinforcement. On most cars I think you can get impressively low without air bags. Consider that newer Corvettes cruise all over with what, 2 inches of ground clearance? They just make sure nothing vulnerable is hanging down. I would suggest you get it as low as you can using conventional methods (cut coils, lowering blocks) and live with it for awhile before taking the leap to air bags.


      Steve Hudson
      The Dalles, Oregon
      1949 "GMOBaker" 1-T Dually (workhorse)
      1953 Commander Convertible (show & go)
      1953 Champion Starliner (custom/rod project)
      1954 Champion Coupe (daily driver)
      1960 Hawk (future project?)

      Steve Hudson
      The Dalles, Oregon
      1949 \"GMOBaker\" 1-T Dually (workhorse)
      1953 Commander Convertible (show & go)
      1953 "Studacudallac" (project)

      Comment


      • #4
        I'm in the same boat. I am having discussions with a local Sacramento guy who is going to do the air bags on my 54. I may do front first and rear later. I should have some more info within the month.

        sals54
        sals54

        Comment


        • #5
          To me, the air bag look is cool- love to see a car come in, park, and PSSHP! drop the rockers on the ground[8D] I've never done it, but someday I'd like to have a bagged something; just can't picture it being a Stude...

          Cravin says 2K for a kit, but I'd bet that's just for the kit- doesn't count the massive amounts of fabrication work required to install it. Add to that the need to completely redesign the rear suspension, as bags don't work on leaf-spring cars; a new 4-link suspension would need to be fabricated and installed from scratch; custom-built, as there are no kits for this. In the front you will probably have a lot of fab work to get bags in, even though it already has coil springs.

          This is not to discourage you; it would be cool done. Just letting you know what you're getting into. Unless you own a fab shop and possess the skills to do this, it will cost big bucks and big amounts of time. You'll have to decide how much you want to do this based on all the above.

          I recommend at least holding off on your decision until Sal gets some more info and reports back.



          Robert (Bob) Andrews Owner- Studebakeracres- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys!)
          Parish, central NY 13131

          "Some people live for the rules, I live for exceptions"- 311

          "With your Lark you're on your own, free as a bird, alive as a Lark. You've suddenly discovered that happiness is a thing called Larking!"



          Comment


          • #6
            Air Ride Technologies is the big company the sells air bag systems. The ting to remember, and I don't know how this translates to Studebakers, but in the area of the rear suspension the frame usually requires a 'C' notch for clearance when the suspension is dropped to the ground. I don't know if there is enought frame to support this modification if it's necessary.

            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Tom - Mulberry, FL

            1964 Studebaker Daytona - 289 4V, 4-Speed (Cost To Date: $2125.60)

            Tom - Bradenton, FL

            1964 Studebaker Daytona - 289 4V, 4-Speed (Cost To Date: $2514.10)
            1964 Studebaker Commander - 170 1V, 3-Speed w/OD

            Comment


            • #7
              I wonder about durability after notching those flimsy Stude frames[B)]



              Robert (Bob) Andrews Owner- Studebakeracres- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys!)
              Parish, central NY 13131

              "Some people live for the rules, I live for exceptions"- 311

              "With your Lark you're on your own, free as a bird, alive as a Lark. You've suddenly discovered that happiness is a thing called Larking!"



              Comment


              • #8
                In the process right now of putting a complete system on a 51 frame, The complete system including the computor, 4 bar rear ,rack ,2 inch drop spindles, disks , about 6ooo.oo, All the welding is done, WE did cut the frame and build a stub, about 54 hours at this time. Many photos if you are interested. we have also done the same suspension, no air , 2inch drops, 4 bar rear, total cost about 3200.00, total time 56 hours.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I guess I should also state those times are for fabrication and welding, bodies already off of the frame.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    OK, if you're going to do it, here's how it was done on our '53: Up front, new circular pockets were fabbed into the lower A-arms. Upper has cylinders added as spacers. New shock mounts were created outside the A-arms. Out back, one "shortcut" we used was to just slice the leaf springs off behind the axle, leaving the front half itact to hold the axle in place (as opposed to fabricating new bars and attachments). A single transverse panard bar was added parrallel to the axle. Pockets were added to the axle and frame to hold the bags. Of course heavy duty sway bars were added front and back. Did not have to notch the frame. We used Air Ride Technologies components, but there are lots of choices out there. There was a lot of trial and error involved because no one had experience with Studebakers. Altogether about $2000 in parts and $2000 in labor.


                    Steve Hudson
                    The Dalles, Oregon
                    1949 "GMOBaker" 1-T Dually (workhorse)
                    1953 Commander Convertible (show & go)
                    1953 Champion Starliner (custom/rod project)
                    1954 Champion Coupe (daily driver)
                    1960 Hawk (future project?)

                    Steve Hudson
                    The Dalles, Oregon
                    1949 \"GMOBaker\" 1-T Dually (workhorse)
                    1953 Commander Convertible (show & go)
                    1953 "Studacudallac" (project)

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I have a combination leaf spring/air bag on the back of my 53. This was also a case of trial and error. My original desire was to install a triangulated four link set up and use Shockwaves from Air Ride Technologies for support and adjustment. As I talked to various people about doing this work with the car on the frame the quotes for labor varied between 1500 and 3000 dollars plus parts. Those quotes included cutting my driveshaft tunnel out and replacing it with a larger one for clearance around my one piece drive shaft. I had two goals, first was to control my rear suspension. My car has a lot of power and I wanted it to hook up better, second was to get that low stance that looks so good. One of the fabricators I met with talked me into going an alternate route which I ended up doing. I took my stock Studebaker springs to a local spring shop and had them de-arc the springs as much as possible. They are almost completely flat unloaded and have a slight negative arc to them when loaded. The spring shop also installed an extra double thick leaf just under the main leaf. This was done for strength. Then I installed the Air Over Leaf sysem from Air Ride to give my self some adjustment. The small air bags are mounted on top of the springs and bolt to the side of frame. Since they are in front of the axle, when I put air in them they help prevent the axle from wrapping up. The result is about 3 inches of adjustment and the car actually hooks up pretty well. The down side is the ride is definitely not what you would call cushiony, but it is tolerable. Always a compromise! The plus side of this was I was able to do everything myself, except the spring de arc. My car had been converted to a single drive shaft before and that was a clearance problem. I was planning to rework the tunnel as stated ealier, but my interior is completely finished and I was reluctant to tear it all out to cut and weld the floor. So I ended up converting back to a two piece drive shaft. This was another expense. Over all I am reasonably satisfied with the end result. If I was starting over again, especially if I had the body off the frame, I would have bit the bullet and done the four link set up and interior mods. I might have spent more and had to farm out more of the fabrication, but I think the result would have been better.

                      You can follow a journal of my project at the link below, start on page 12 and go from there:



                      Pat

                      P.S. One other consideration for a 4 link system is it takes up space and makes exhaust routing more challenging. It can still be done, just not as easily and will likely require a complete custom system over the rear axle.

                      Pat Dilling
                      Olivehurst, CA
                      Custom '53 Starlight aka Stu Cool
                      Pat Dilling
                      Olivehurst, CA
                      Custom '53 Starlight aka STU COOL


                      LS1 Engine Swap Journal: http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/jour...ournalid=33611

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Remembered one more thing, Slick Street Stuff in Knoxville Tennessee was prototyping a 4 link rear suspension for Studebakers, even included a Dana 44 rear axle with all the mounts welded in place so it would be close to a bolt in solution. These are the same people who offer the bolt in front suspension with rack & pinion and tublular A arms in the ad you see in Turning Wheels. You can reach them at 865-525-6151 to ask questions.



                        Pat Dilling
                        Olivehurst, CA
                        Custom '53 Starlight aka Stu Cool
                        Pat Dilling
                        Olivehurst, CA
                        Custom '53 Starlight aka STU COOL


                        LS1 Engine Swap Journal: http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/jour...ournalid=33611

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          " Slick Street Stuff in Knoxville Tennessee was prototyping a 4 link rear suspension for Studebakers,"

                          I'm the "alpha test" site for the 4-Link on the Avanti......still not done as we are using AirRide Shockwave 7000's on the rear and am awaiting a shorter shock/spring set coming in....hopefully this week. We have the lowers welded up, but when we found the shock/spring combo was way too long in the fully compressed state, we thought it best to wait until we got the ride height set, before we weld-up the upper links to the housing.

                          Putting in the new upper crossmember was a little difficult because we had to cut-out a small portion of the frame lip to get it in place, Rene had always installed these on "frame-off" cars in the past. It does fit, but it is a lower mounting location than the original shock location, hence the shorter shock/spring requirement. I'll post pictures when it gets all welded up and installed.

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